Day 74, 30 July

14 Visitors

We finally got off on our designated Wednesday. The morning was foggy but the seas were minimal. This morning also brought the Armada gang to get roofing supplies brought onto the island. We departed before they arrived. The crossing was uneventful and I looked back at our little island to see Beauty shining her great light, high on her hill. What s beautiful sight she is. We did our usual bottle and can donation to the school and stopped at Cyndy’s for water and trash disposal. The most important task was to give hugs and kisses to Hinkley. We continued on to Bath for breakfast at the Creamery and stopped in the office to see Catherine, drop off sales stuff, get mail and pickup a few more things for the gift shop. We ran a few errands around Bath and then a drive up to Augusta to see what was up there. We saw the state capital shrouded in scaffolding with obvious repairs going on to the capital dome.  Other than that, not a whole lot to interest us and we checked out a few more towns as we headed back southeast toward Lewiston/Auburn.

This is Some of the Wood brought Ashore.  It was either Floated or Carried
on the dingy.  15 80 lb. bags of Shingles were also Brought in.

As we headed toward Lewiston/Auburn on highway 196, I spied a little blue sign that said Yarn in a Yurt. So we headed down a minor road to find Friends Folly Farm in near Monmouth. There was indeed a big yurt filled with wonderful local wools for spinning and yarns to knit as well as other goodies. Out side the yurt were the Angora goats with their curly coats of mohair that the fibers came from – how neat to see the actual animals that produced the yarns. I did get yarn in a grayish, heather with flecks of rich purple, teal, and rose colors for a sweater and a matching little bag made from the same felted wool. I also got a skein of pale pink to lavender yarn that is made from their precious fluffy angora rabbits mixed with wool and a scarf pattern. What a lucky find to come upon this local place with their gorgeous fibers and to see the animals that it comes from. There was also a cute black and white cat wandering the area with a white moustache named Fred. I hopped back in the car and we continued heading toward Lewiston/Auburn where we stopped at Gritty’s pub and had a very nice lunch outside next to the Androscoggin river.

Gritty's Brewery & Pub in Auburn, ME

After lunch we headed toward Bath and arrived at Shaw’s to do our grocery shopping. After Shaw’s we had just enough time to get some ice cream at Wicked’s Ice Cream before we headed to the dock at Popham. As we approached the dock the fog got thicker. We stopped at Percy’s store to pick up some ice cream and post cards and headed to the dock where we unloaded our stuff and changed to our nylon shorts and water shoes. I drove the car back to the church where there was an art show going on but I couldn’t take a look. Back to the dock I walked and a few minutes later we saw Ethan arrive in the Leeward with some visitors and some of our work crew.

Tram Damage, Red Arc shows how the tram turned 90 deg CCW bending
the rail as it went

Just before they arrived Fred informed me that there was a problem with the tram and we wouldn’t be able to use it to bring up our stuff. We would have to carry it all ourselves up the steep trail. Fortunately we didn’t have a lot of stuff – one cooler, two large bins and a small bin. We would leave the water cube and gas can in the Donkey House. We loaded our stuff onto the Leeward after everyone else got off and a fishing party got on the boat. We chugged out to Seguin on a pleasant but cool and partly foggy ride. Everyone had left the island and they tied the dinghy up to a mooring for us to use. It took two loads to get our stuff and us back to the shore. We hauled up the heavy dinghy and tied her up and proceeded to take up our stuff to the base of the tram. I went ahead with my waterproof bag and the small bin. Fred started up

When the Pulley holding the Cable Broke the Tension in the Cable broke
the No. 5 Support Causing it to Separate from the Horizontal Supports

with the cooler so I could get the cold and frozen stuff into the fridge and freezer. I checked on Sac and gave her a quick walk and left her outside in her favorite spot. I went back to the tram top to see the damage to the track that was ripped up and curved with the cart sideways. The cable was off of the pulley wheel – what happened? There was damage down at the donkey house with the chain broke, cable a mess and even a tram support torn apart. We were told there would be someone coming out to fix it but it would probably be two weeks of no use before then. So next week we will have to haul all our stuff ourselves. Good thing we have more water cubes at the house already – they are very heavy – 50 pounds. We eventually got all our stuff up to the house and emptied some heavy items into Fred’s backpack and another smaller bag to carry. It took five trips up the hill.  The fog returned to the island and the horn started tooting. Fred tried to lie out to relax on a bench before the fog arrived and I put all our stuff in its places around the house.

Since it was getting cold and damp we relaxed inside and caught some news and Big Bang Theory on the computer/TV. We were tired from our long day and hauls up the hill. Fred made a nice salad and I had that with some squash soup for a very late dinner after my knitting and nap on the couch. Went to bed very late after writing the blog with the horn tooting in the foggy mist. Earlier when we went out with Sac the foggy mist was swirling about the dark lines projected from the tower and some stars could be seen through the wavering clouds. This has got to be one of the most beautiful, spectacular eerie sights from our beloved Seguin lighthouse – somehow I have to capture it in a painting!